Sheboygan's new judges share many similarities; both have over 20 years of legal experience, both earned criminal justice degrees from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee before graduating from the University of Wisconsin Law School in the early ‘90s. And both reside in Kohler with their wives and three kids.

But the type of experience they bring to the bench differs greatly -- one who served on both sides of the criminal justice system and another whose entire experience is couched in civil litigation.

Kent Hoffmann: A high-profile history

Hoffmann has prosecuted hundreds of cases since becoming a Marinette County ADA in 2009. Before prosecuting, Hoffmann defended hundreds more cases as a public defender in Peshtigo and Milwaukee since 1993. During that time, Hoffman has found himself in the spotlight, on both sides.

Hoffmann defended hunter James Nichols for the 2007 murder of Cha Vang, where Nichols was accused of shooting and stabbing Vang before hiding his body. Marinette County Judge David Miron sentenced Nichols to 69 years in prison, with 30 years extended supervision for the crimes of second-degree intentional homicide, felon in possession of a firearm and hiding a corpse. The case caught national attention due to its relation to racial tensions in that part of the state. Several years before that homicide, a Hmong hunter killed six white hunters.

Hoffmann said in 2007 he tried to keep the option of second-degree homicide charge out of the jury room. That would have left them with the options of first-degree homicide or not guilty.

Nichols claimed he acted in self-defense. The second-degree homicide conviction allowed the jury to consider he may have believed he was acting in self-defense, but that his force or belief were unreasonable.

After switching to prosecution in 2009, Hoffmann was involved in another high-profile case. Brent Kaempf pled guilty to the 2013 murder of his girlfriend, Patricia Waschbisch. She was the interim director of The Rainbow House, a Marinette shelter for domestic abuse survivors.

Hoffmann was the prosecuting attorney for the case, which resulted in life in prison, with no chance of release.

Hoffmann also prosecuted a 2010 domestic violence incident in which Kaempf hit Waschbisch in the face. However, the charges were dismissed and the case resolved through deferred prosecution, at the request of Waschbisch.

Marinette County District Attorney Allen Brey, who has been in the office since 1993, has known Hoffmann since he became the Peshtigo Public Defenders Office manager.

“He is an even-keeled legal scholar. He is unyieldingly fair to everyone involved in the criminal justice system. It was a joy working with him.” Brey said. “He has all the attributes that make a great judge.”

Hoffmann also handled most high-end drug prosecutions in Marinette County, which has one of the worst opioid problems in the state. He was also involved in the Marinette Treatment Drug Court’s inception. The court, established in 2014, seeks to rehabilitate certain drug offenders at a lesser cost to the community.

Daniel Borowski’s civil experience with local government

Daniel J. Borowski(Photo: Von Briesen and Roper)

Borowski’s litigation history is not as public as Hoffmann’s, but is still noteworthy. He joined von Briesen & Roper in April 2015, when they added the firm he founded, Phillips Borowski SC.

At von Briesen & Roper, he is an equity shareholder and civil attorney who has specializes in serving municipalities, school districts and quasi-government groups.

His older civil cases from the late ‘90s and early 2000s dealt with private parties and he had no appeal cases from 2006 to 2014. Since 2014, all of his cases that have gone to the court of appeals have involved a county, municipality or quasi-governmental organization. The same is true of his circuit court cases since 2011.

Notably, Borowski has litigated at least two cases involving open government law. Wisconsin’s open records and opens meetings laws have recently been a point of debate at state and local levels, especially with allegations that the Sheboygan Area School District violated open meetings law during its deliberations on the possible sale of the Field of Dreams.

Borowski represented the Wisconsin Counties Association in a 2014 open government law-related case. The Wisconsin Professional Police Association sued them over their denial to release certain records, which Borowski successfully defended by arguing they did not constitute a quasi-governmental organization.

The other case involving open records law was brought by an Appleton parent against the Appleton Area School District Board. In that case, John Krueger sued the AASD Board for creating a review committee for communication arts materials. Borowski argued the committee did not constitute a governmental body and therefore did not need to comply with open meetings law. That case is still open in a state appeals court.

Andrew Phillips, his former business partner and current colleague, has known Borowski for over 20 years and worked on a variety of other issues with counties and school districts, but that his experience with open government law won’t affect him as a judge.

“The law is the law and obviously when we are hired by clients, we’re hired as advocates,” Phillips said. “I see it being a benefit to Sheboygan because there aren’t a lot of judges out there with experience on the open government laws.”

Phillips also noted that Borowski’s experience as a small business owner of Phillips Borowski for five years will be helpful on the bench.

Both Borowski and Hoffmann will need to earn a full six-year term by running for re-election in April 2017.